Austrian snowboarder breaks neck in crash at Olympics

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TOM SCHAD | USA TODAY , TEGNA11:29 AM. CST February 15, 2018

Markus Schairer of Austria competes during the Men's Snowboard Cross Seeding on day six of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Phoenix Snow Park on February 15, 2018 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea.
(Photo: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Schairer somehow returned to his feet and finished the race under his own power.

The Austrian Olympic committee said in the statement that Schairer, who was in fourth place at the time of his crash, will be transported back to Austria by medical personnel "as soon as possible." There are no early signs of neurological impairment or long-term damage, according to the committee.

This is not the first serious injury that Schairer, who also competed in the 2010 and 2014 Olympics, has suffered while racing. According to his Olympic profile, he broke five ribs in a crash at the 2010 X Games, then fractured a joint and tore four ligaments in his left shoulder during another race in 2013.